Automatic player for musical instruments.



J. J; WALKER.

AUTOMATIG PLAYER FOB. MUSIGAL INSTRUMENTS.

AIFILIOATION FILED AUG.24,1906.

' 91 1,789. Patented Feb. 9, 1909.

3 SHEETST'BEEET 1.

Wit messes Inn 1222807.

J. J. WALKER. AUTOMATIC PLAYER FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. APPLICATION nunwe. 24,1906.

91 1,789. Patented Feb. 9, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J. J. WALKER. AUTOMATIC PLAYER FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 24, 1906.

Patented Feb. 9, 1909.

3SHEETSSHBET 3.

i To all whom it may concern:

JAMES JOHN WALKER,

OF LONDON, ENGLAND;

AUTQMATIC PLAYER son MUSIQAL INSTRUMENTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 9, 1909.

Application filed it 'ua 24, 1906. SerialNo. 331,911.

Be it known that 1, James J OHN WALKER, of 27 Francis street, TottenhamCourt Road,

London, England h ave'invented new anduseful Improvements Connected withAutomatic Musical Instruments or Automatic Players ior MusicalInstruments; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable othersskilled in the 'art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements connected with automatic musicalinstruments, or automatic players for musical in struments, and consistsin means for automatically and also non-automatically maintaining theproper register between a tune sheet and the pneumatic or electrictracker board over which it is caused to travel.

To avoid unnecessary relteration the tracker board is hereinaftergenerally. re-' 'i'erred to,'or regarded, as a pneumatic one,

but it. will be readily understood that the present nvention is notrestricted to any particular arran ement.

In the tune sheets as hitherto provided for effecting or controllin theautomatic playing of pianos and like eyboard instruments, the variousnotes or tune slots or erforations are ir'eguently found to beveryirregularly punche the various slots or perforations, in some casesbeing, as a whole, too near one edge,.and iniother cases too near theother edge of the tune sheet, and this, unless special means ofadjustment be rovided for neutralizing the effect of such irregularity,frequently disturbs the necessar register between the said perforationsan the tracker ports or ducts over which the tune sheets are caused totravel.

Means have been provided for enabling the aforesaid registerto bemaintained, but they have always been such as to necessitate personalsupervision on the part of the personoperating, or controlling thegeneral working of, the instrument; in one form these means haveinvolved the longitudinal displacement ,of'the pneumatic tracker boardrelatively to the tune sheet, and in another form, the transversedisplacement of the tune sheet, relatively to the tracker board, butboth of theseadjustnients .havefbeen manuallyefiected. l

' n ay be secured by causing the tune sheet to'automatically effect itsown registration. This'result is attained by causingeither the trackerboard to be moved relatively to the direction of the width of the tune'sheet,'0r

transverse to its own length, relatively to the tracker board.

' In the" accompanying diagrammatic drawings which are to be taken aspart of this arrangement in which the tracker board is automaticallyadjustable relatively to the tune sheet, the said tracker board beingshown in its normal osition in Fig. 1, and in one of its adjusted Fig. 3is a plan and Fig. 4 a front elevation partly in section of a portion ofanother arrangement in which the tracker board is automaticallyadjustable relatively to the tune music to be eii'ected; Fig. 5 1s aplan and Fig. 6 a front elevation of portion of an arrangement in whichthe tune sheet is auto matically adjustable relatively to the trackerboard and which is provided with means for enabling transposition of themusic to be effected; Fig. 7 is a front elevation partly broken away ofa modification of the apparatus shown in Figs. '5 and 6'; Fig. 8 isapers'pective view of another arrangement for automatically obtainingthe same results as the arrangements shown in Figs. 1 to 7 Fig. 9 is aplan of a modification of Fig. 8 this arrangement being devised forenabling the adjustment of the register to be manually effected, andFig. 10 is a diagrammatic view tion to the maintenance of ropersideregister of aQsheet passing throng 1 a music recording mechanism.

Throughout the several figures the same reference numerals are used toindicate like or corresponding parts.

ports; or ducts 2co'nnected to the respective 'mOT QPS hy' flexibletubes neither ofwhich two latter devices are represented in thedrawingsbecause they are of ordinary well-kilo wn construction andconstitutefiio part of the 'p'resent invention. The tracker board 1 isAccording to the present invention the at'eafc'hendprovided w'ithone ormore admamtenance of tl1e 5l50V6 -I1&I3d register 'dit'ional portsB,4,32 4 hereinafter alled the said sheet to be moved, in a directionspecification and read therewith -:'Figures J 1 and 2 are plans, partlybroken away, of one positions in'Fig. 2

sheet and which, in addition, is provided with means for enablingtranspositionof the showing the manner ofapplying the inven- In the"arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the tracker board' 1 has its severalusual controlling ports, these ports, as shown, preferably being longand narrow, each pair 3, a, or 3 4?, occupying a portion of the lengthof the trackerboard 1 equivalent or substan 5 tially equivalent to thelength of one of the ports 2.

At each edge of the. time sheet 5of which only a portion is shown indotted lines in Fig. 1-are provided controlling perforations 6, 6respectively, preferably situated at definite distances apart along thelength of the said sheet, these perforations being formed in rowssituated normally just outside of the controlling ports 3, 3 and bearinga strict relationship, as regards their lateral position on the tunesheet, to the tune perforations 7,

so that whenever the tune perforations become out of register with thetracker ports 2,

one of the controlling perforations 6 or 6 comes into register with thecorresponding controlling port 3 or 3*, or 4 or 4 according to theextent of such deviation, and is thereby immediately causative of theautomatic return of the tune sheet 5 to its proper regis- '25 teringposition as next described.

. .To each end of the, tracker board 1 is pivoted one end of a link 8whose opposite end is pivoted to a lever 9 or 9 onwhich are adapted toact pneumatic motors 10, 10, '11, 11 respectively connected to thecontrolling ports 3, 3 a, 4', by flexible tubes 12, showndiagrammatically in the drawings by dotted lines. The levers 9, 9 aresuitably pivoted to stationary boards 13 to which-the v motors 10, 10*,11, l1 are permanently attached, andbe'tween these boards and the saidlevers are provided compression springs 14, 14 which hold the trackerboard 1 in its normal position, allow it to be moved longito return itto its normal position after it has been thus deflected. The motors 10,10,

. are adapted to move the levers 9, 9 through the first portion of theiroperative stroke, and to remain at rest duringthe remaining portion ofthe stroke, this latter portion being eiiected by the motors 11, 11*.For this purpose the motors L0, 10 may be caused to 4 ear against thelevers 9, 9 respectively, without being permanently attached to them andthe motors 11, 11* may or may not be permanentiyattached to'tlie saidlevers. Y

The operation of the before described apparatus is as followsz-So longas the tune sheet perforations 7 are in proper lateral register with theorts 2, the'controlling perforations 6, 6', Will not come into registerwith the controlling ports 3, 3 or'4, 4 and therefore the several motors10, 11,.10 11* and thetracker board 1 will remain in their respectivenormal positions, as represented in full lines in Fig. 1. Whenhowever, the tune sheet perforations 7 deviate towards the right or leftof the tracker ports 2, the controller perforations 6 or 6 are broughtinto 'tudinally in either direction, and also serve register with theirrespective controlling ports and, pressure being thereby admitted. intothe corresponding motor, the tracker board is automatically moved toagain bring its ports 2 into proper. lateral register with theperforations 7. e

In Big. 1 the several motors and the levers 9, 9 are shown in dottedlines in the position which would result from the rightward deviation ofthe tune sheet 5 to the extent of bringing the row of controllingperforations 6 into register with the corresponding port 3, and'theconsequent admission of wind pressure through that port to the motor 10.

When the longitudinal travel of the tune s0 sheet 5 carries acontrollingperforation away from the port 3, and the supply of wind pressure to themotor 10 is thus out off, the spring l acts so as to return the severalmotors andthe tracker board to their respective normal positions, thisreturning or leftward movement occupying a longer time than did thepreviou's'rightward movement owing to-unperforated parts of the tunesheet then covering all of the controlling ports 3, 4, 3*, 4* andpractically closin the said motors to both ingress and egress o air theair displaced during this return movement finds its way either throughthe flexible walls of the motors or through suitable minute ventsprovided for the purpose, these vents being fitted 'or not withadjustable valves which may serve to regulate the duration of the saidreturn movement, it being referred that the tracker board 1 shall reacits normaljposition at or about the f time at which the next controllingperforations 6, 6 reach the said board.

Fig. 2 shows the apparatus with the mo tors 10, 10 11, 11 and thetracker'boa'rd l v in the positions respectivelyassumed by them when thetune sheet has deviated rightward so far as to bring the controllingperforation 6 into register with the corre sponding tracker board port4'.

In the arrangement shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the tracker ltoard 1 is freeto move in the direction of its length in guides 15 provided upon aloard 16, which, together with all the.

parts mounted thereon, is longitudinally-:

'adjustalle as for example 1 y a screw device 17 on a stationary lase loard. 18. A llade or'equivalent spring 19 Fig. 41, secured to the guides15 or loard 16 acts on the tracker loard 1 so-as to return it to itsnormal position after deflection therefrom in either direction. Theseveral motors 20, 20*, 21, 21? of this arrangement, are adapted to ,beoperated l ysuctiorn'their closing and opening movements taking place in-vertical planes as distinguished from horizontal planes as in thepreviously desfcri" ed ex'ample. These motors are adapted, by ,adustalle screws 22, to depress'the-onter ends of bentlevers 23, 23, rigidlyattached to or other of which is of telescopic constructionas ordinarilyto admit of the insertion and removal of the rolls 26, 27. The severalmotors 20, 21, 21 are provided with adjustable stop screws or equivalentwhich limit the collapse of each .such motor to the extent necessary formoving the tracker board thewidthnf one or two-of the controlling ports3 4, 3 4 the subsequent expansion of the said motors being effectedbythe usualsprings 14, 14-. The present example is one which providesfor'thextr'ansposition of the music and for that reason the last-namedcontrolling ports are formed in subsidiary stationary tracker boards 31,.32, these ports, (like other -portsnot shown in thedrawingsappertaining to the soft and loud pedals of pianos and-theswell'pedals .or levers and draw'stops of organs, and which are notaffected by the transposing shift) not requiring to participate in suchtransposition adjustment. The sul sidiary stationary tracker boards 31,32 are rigidly secured to thei ass lioard 18 and pass through slots 33,

Fig. 3, in the sliding board 16, upon which latter are providedstandards 34 in which the rocking shafts 24, 24 are suital 1y journaled.When in the operation of the last described example, and l y reason ofundesired and unintentional leftward lateral deviation of the tune"sheet, controlling perforations are brought into register with say theportS, the motor 20 is collapsed and the tracker board 1' is movedleftward sufficiently to bring the ports-2 thereof into register withthe tune sheet perforations 7:

When it is desired to effect a transposition of music the screw device17 is adjusted to the desired extent, as may be indicated by a suitallescale and index 35, Fig. 3, this adjustment serving to shift the trackerboard 1 .and'the'motors 2Q, 20 21, 21 as one entity,

in a direction transverse to the direction of travel of thetune sheet 5and withoutin any way affecting the relationship retween the controllingports 3, 4, 3 4"" and the corresponding perforations 6, 6.

Figs. 5 and 6 represent an arrangement in which the before-describedautomatic control involves, the lateral adjustment of the tune sheet 5.In this arrangement the two co-axial shafts 28 and 29, between which,

each of the tworolls 26, 27 is sup orted, are" capable of being moved inthe irection of their common axis so that thesnidrolls and the tunesheet maybe moved in the same di-. rection and simultaneously therewith;These shafts .28' and 29 are free to slide instation v ary bearings 36and'a're acted upon by blade springs 37, 38 res ecti-vely, Fig. 6,which-tend to return the rol s 26, 27 to their normal" .0- sition afterthey have been moved in eit ier direction therefrom. The shafts 28 arenonrotating ones and the springs 37 may therefore be in directengagement with. them, but as the shafts 29 are caused to rotate for thepurpose of transmitting rotary motion to the rolls 26, 27 the springs 38a pertaining there- 'to engage the said shafts t n'ough the inter;

mediary of collars 39 with which also engage forked arms 40 fast to therocking shaft 24. c,

The outer ends of the shafts 28 are in operative contact with lever arms41 fast to the rock shaft 24 'wnich, as also the shaft 24, is

operated substantially; in the manner hereinbefore describedwitireference to Figs. 3 and 4 although, as distinguished from thelast-mentioned arrangement, in the present example the motors 42?, 42serve for compensating for, or correcting leftward and rightwarddeviation respectively of the tune sheet 5. The two-shafts 29 arerotated by any of the well-known means and they may be, as ordinarily,of telescopic construction to enable them to yield when the rolls areinserted into and removed from their operative position. In thisarrangement are shown only two motors for effecting the automaticadjustment of the tune sheet 5 and consequently only one controllingport 3 or 3 is rovided in each of the subsidiary tracker oards 31, 32,and as it is necessary that the relationship of the tune sheet 5 andcontrolling-ports 3, 3 shall not be disturbed by any adjustment made fortransposing the music, the subsidiary tracker boards 31, 32 are rigidlyattached to the sliding board 16so that they will be moved along withthe tune sheet when such transposing adjustment is' made, thetrackerboard 1 being rigid with the base board 18 and thereforeremaining stationary during such transposing adjustment.

In the alternative form of apparatus shown in Fig. 7 the two motors 42,42? are both arranged to act on the shafts; 28, the telescopic shafts 29being of the ordinary well-known construction. In this arrangement the srings 43 of the telescopic shafts 29 are uti ized for moving. the musicand receiving rolls in one direction while the motor 42 is adapted tomove them in the opposite direction. For this purpose the two motors areadapted to act upon it n rmally horizontal lever 44 rocking, at itscenter, about a fixedpivot'45, and having a downwardly extending arm orboard46 in constant 0 erative contact with the outer ends of hot i ofthe shafts 28. In the present example the motor returning sprin s 14, 14are in the form of blades attache to fixed supports'47 and, according asthe respective controlling ports the tracker board become exposed, sowill one or other of ,the motors become colla sed and move the rollsrightward or allow t em to be moved leftward by the sprin s shafts 29.'When t e last-named ports are thus a ain covered orclosed bythe-unperforate 14, 14", will slowly return the lever 44 to its normalposition.

It will be readily understood that besides the set of shafts 28, 29 androll 26 represented in Fig. 7, a second set is employed as be''fore-mentioned, this second set however is directly to the rear of, andtherefore comletely obscured by thesetillustrated. 'lhe est-describedarrangement, as compared with that shown'in higs. 5 and 6, provides fora more' easy placing of the rolls .26, 27 into andiout of theirrespective operativepositions, the elasticity of the springs 43sufiicing for all such adjustments, whereas in the'other arrangement,the insertion of'the rolls into position involves a somewhat strainede3;- pansion of the 'motor 42. Instead of the two motors 42, 42 beingarranged as last described and shown in Big. 7 the same result may beobtained byarranging them to act one above, and the other below, a leverpivoted at one end andhaving a board perpendicular to the length of thelever adapted to act upon the ends of the two shafts 28.

Instead of providing thebefore-described I tracker board controllingports and the corresponding tune sheet perforations in the positions'inwhich they are respectively represented in the drawings, they may beprovided at or near the middle ofthe tracker board and tune sheetrespectively, one tune.

sheet perforation adapted to cooperate with two tracker boardcontrollingports, in some instances suflicing for this arrangement; or,

. in cases such as that indicated in Figs. 5 and 6,

and that hereinafter described with reference to Fig. 8, the coveringand uncovering of the tracker board controlling-ports may be cffected bythe actual edges of the tune sheet instead of by perforations situatednear those edges.

. The automatic device illustrated in Fig. 8' is adapted to secure theregistration of the tune sheets by causing thelatter, or the art thereofextending between the sup ly r0 1 26 and the receiving roll 27 and overthe tracker board lato be turned to an angle relatively to its normalposition so that it will be auto' matically wound on the receiving roll27. more towards one end than the other, and thereby caused to right itsposition relatively to the tracker board ,1.

ment the tracker board ,1 is pivoted at one one 'end,as-a 48, to say thewall 49,- Mother 'suitable parts of the tracker board chamber, and atthe otherfend it is operatively con- 43 of the telescopic.

parts of the tune sheet 5, the springs is tied to the wa bar 59 having aconvex or curved up er'snrface to which are attached, each .In thisarrange-.

nected,'say in the manner illustrated in Fig. 9, to a slide 50, which isfree to move in the direction of its length in guides 51 fast to sa, theouter side of the wall or partition 52 of the tracker board chamber,said wall or partition being suitably slotted to admit of the connectionbetween the tracker board 1 and the slide 50 having -free play inahorizontal direction, as is shown for example in Fig. 9.

"lbs connections between therolls 26 and 27 with their respectivedriving shafts 29, are such as to enable the said rolls to be movedangularly in relation to these shafts without disturbing the drivingconnection; this maybe effected for example by slightly tapering thesquared or other non-circular driving ends of the said shafts 29, asindicated in dotted lines in Fig. 9, so that'they will engage with onlythe outer edges of the parallel sided square or equivalent recesses inthe ends of the rolls. At their opposite or left-hand ends, the rolls26, 27 are supported on spring-pressed and axially adju'stablebenters orcenter shafts similar to those marked 53 in Fig. 9, carried by the slide50, and projecting through slots in the wall or partition 52. In thisarrangement the slide 50 is provided with a notch or recess with whichengages an arm 54 fast to, and extending downwards from, a rock shaft 55suitably journaled in bearings provided in the wall or partition 52 andin a standard 56.

'lhe two' control ports 3, 5 (the lattervof which is represented dotted)are connected with the respective motors 42, 42 by a pipe 12, alsorepresented in dotted lines, and I these motors, thror gh short verticallinks 57, are connected to the outer ends of lever arms 58; extendingfrom opposite sides of the rock shaft 55. 'lhe r per end of the standard56 or partition 52, by abridge screws 60, two blade springs 61 adaptedto bear upon the lever arms 58. These springs are capable of beingadjusted by means of the screws 60, so as normally to retain the trackerboard 1 and rolls 26, 27, in their respective normal positions and toreturn them to such positions'after they have been deflectediherefrom.So lon as the tune sheet- 5 of this last describe arrangement occupiesits proper working osition, it maintains both of the two contro ports 3,3 closed, and consequently the adjusting devices remain inoperative,when, however, the trne sheet becomes deflectedfrom its normal path, saytowards'the left hand, it

exposes the control port 3, and thereby al lows the air to be exhaustedfrom the motor.

42 which, 'under external atmospheric pres-' l srre collapses and cantsthe left-hand ends of the rolls '26, 27 and tracker board 1, to-

y two.

wards the rear, that is to say towards the upper side of Fig. 8, withthe result that the tune sheet will be deflected or caused to traveltowards the right until it shall have again been restored to its normalposition. A hen the time sheet becomes deflected from its normal pathtowards the right-hand, the control ort 3 is exposed and the motor 42cfi'ects t e restoration of the tune sheet to the said normal path, aswill now be well understood without further explanation.

In the manually adjustable device represented in Fig. 9, the slide 50 issecured to the rear end of a screw 62 engaging with a nut 63 ca able ofbeing turned, without motion in t e direction of its axis, in a bearing64 fast to the adjacent wall or partition 52. By turning the nut 63 inonezor other direction, the left hand ends of the tracker board 1 androlls 26, 27 will be simultaneously moved forward or backward andconsequently the tune sheet will be caused to deviate may be mentioned atracker board having an electrical conductor with which readers orfingers are adapted to make electrical contact through the perforationsin the tune sheet and, in an arrangement for mechanically controllingthe transmission of the impulse the said tracker board may have a grooveinto which the readers or fingers fall through the tune sheetperforations.

I claim 1. In ap aratus wherein a traveling sheet is wound rom one rollon to another one constantly parallel therewith, the combination withthe said rolls of means adapted to adjust them out of perpendicularityto the direction of normal travel of the sheet.

2. In ap aratus wherein a traveling sheet is wound rom one roll on toanother one constantly parallel therewith and over a tracker boardintermediate the two rolls, the combination with the said rolls and Itracker board of means adapted to adjust normal travel of the sheet"said motor devices being controlled by the traveling sheet conjointlywith the tracker board.

4. In apparatus wherein a traveling sheet is wound from one roll on toanother, the combination with the said rolls, of center shaftssupporting them at one end, a slide carryingthese shafts and meansadapted to adjust the said slide in a direction parallel with thedirection of normal travel of the sheet.

.5. In apparatus wherein a traveling sheet is wound from one roll. on toanother, and over atracker board intermediate the two rolls, thecombination with the said rolls and tracker board of a slide operativelycon nected to each of them at one end and means combination with thesaid rolls of a slide operatively-connected to each of them at one endand motor devices operativelyconnected to the slide adapted to adjust itin a direction parallel with the direction of normal travel of thesheet.

7. In apparatus wherein a travel ng sheet is wound from one roll on toanother and over a tracker board intermediate the two rolls, thecombination with the said rolls and trackenboard, of a slide operativelyconnected to each of them at one end and motor devicesoperatively-connected to the slide adapted to adjust it in a directionparallel with the direction of normal travel of the sheet, the saidmotordevices being controlled by the traveling sheet conjointly with thetracker board. v

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence oftwo-witnesses.

JAMES JOHN WALKER.

ios

